Numerous medical conditions can lead to weakened or softened bones in subjects, e.g., osteoporosis, tumors, etc. Such weakened bones can fracture more easily than healthy bones, especially in response to mechanical stress. Compression fractures of the spine are a common example of such damage.
A number of less than satisfactory treatments currently exist to treat fractures of irregular bones, such as vertebral compression fractures, or fractures of the metaphyseal portion of long bones resulting from damaged and/or diseased bone. For example, for vertebral compression fractures bone cement can be injected into the damaged vertebral body, sometimes within a cavity formed within the bone. Alternatively, and/or additionally, support devices that act at a distance from the fractured/diseased bone (e.g., external to the spinal column) can be implanted or used within a subject to act as stabilizers. However, such current methods are unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. For example, bone cement can leak outside of its intended area and can also prevent healing of bone tissue. Current external stabilizing devices usually involve highly invasive surgery and, if promoting fusion between spinal segments, can result in limited range of motion of the spine and promote degenerative changes both above and below the treated level, thus having a negative impact in quality of life for the subject.
Thus, there is a need for better, more anatomical methods and treatments of damaged/diseased bone to prevent and/or promote fracture healing. The current invention provides these and other benefits which will be apparent upon examination of the current specification, claims, and figures.